This disclosure relates to a portable article including a device and method for administrating therapy to a user. While the disclosure is directed specifically to treating impaired airway clearance for users or patients suffering from a variety of medical conditions that the effect lung function of the patient, those skilled in the art will recognize the wider applicability of the inventive principles discussed hereinafter.
Medical conditions that would benefit from improved lung drainage and more effective airway clearance include Cystic Fibrosis, Bronchiectasis, Pneumonia, and all other COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), for example. Airway clearance is the elimination of excess mucus and contaminants from the lungs. Natural airway clearance is accomplished when certain body mechanisms interact effectively. Mucus is secreted to entrap harmful substances and keep airways clean; natural filters such as nasal hairs help capture contaminants; cilia continuously sweep mucus from the lower segments of the lungs to upper airways; and coughing and sneezing clears the mucus from the respiratory system.
Natural airway clearance is extremely important because the process helps people stay healthy and breather easier, Mucus that accumulate in the lungs may lead to very serious complications including death. Excessive or retained mucus creates an ideal environment for the growth of infection-causing pathogens. These infections can damage healthy lung tissue and make breathing more difficult.
The assignee of the present disclosure has had a long history in providing treatment for impaired airway clearance. Various commercial products were and are sold under its well-known trademarks, including merely by way of example and not of limitation, Flimm Fighter®, Directional-Stroking®, Neo-Cussor™ VibraCare®, Therassist®, and Medatilt. For years, patients with impaired airway clearance relied upon manual chest physical therapy (CPT). Products employing the Directional-Stroking® method are particularly effective for airway clearance. However, while these and other associated products work well for their intended purpose, they often are not easily adapted for self administration. That is to say, a second person (care giver) is needed for use with the product or products in conjunction with the therapy being applied to the patient. As indicated above, products employing the Directional-Stroking® technique are particularly effective in loosening and moving contaminants and mucus from the lungs, for example, to the larger airways (i.e. thorax), where they can be coughed out.
A series of products are known in the art which employ what their manufacturers refer to as high frequency chest wall oscillation techniques, most of which use a vest or wrap which is worn by the patient. An air compressor and at least one associated hose are connected from the air compressor to the vest or wrap. In operation, the air compressor must be continuously-connected to a 120 volt or 220 volt electrical power source throughout the full period of each treatment. While those products claim to be portable, all require an external bulky and noisy air compressor and connecting hose extending from the compressor to the vest or wrap, and an available connection to a 120 volt or 220 volt power source. The competitive systems are portable only in the analogous sense that the original portable compressors, weighing approximately fifteen pounds, were portable compressors. The vest and compressors can be lugged around, but they truly are not portable as that term has become to be understood in the art or by the consuming public.
As disclosed below, a completely safe, truly portable, self-contained, easy-to-use article is provided for unattended use by both children and adults. The article, sometimes referred to herein after as a G5® Freedom™ system, in one illustrative embodiment, includes a vest or wrap made operational by the provision of a plurality of recessed pockets and/or attachment provisions on or in the article positioned adjacent to the major lung segments, both topical and apical when the article is worn by the patient. The pockets or attachment provisions hold at least one self-contained power module or power pod adapted to provide the “Direction Stoking” forces to the patient without the need for an attendant or caregiver for the patient. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the number of potential embodiments employing the inventive constructions disclosed hereinafter is limited only by one's imagination.